This is Jacobin Radio, I'm Suzy Weisman. On today's program, we look at

electoral politics in France and the United States. First of the United States,

Alan Minsk and Harvey Kay join us to discuss the 21st century economic

Bill of Rights, which they see as both a campaign platform and governing

program to rescue and renew American democracy. This is more than a to-do or

must-do list for progressives, but in their words, a truly compelling and

transformative democratic and unifying project. We ask them to explain what

the economic Bill of Rights contains and how they see it as the platform to

advance democracy. We also ask whether they think this program is feasible and

realizable as campaign strategy given the configuration of our political

winner-take-all system. We then turn to the recent election in France, where

incumbent Immanuel Macron won with a 17% margin over Marine Le Pen. The period

leading up to this election was far more uncertain. The contest had been

narrowed from 12 parties in the first round held on April 10th to the top two

vote getters, the centrist neoliberal Immanuel Macron, and the far-rightest

Marine Le Pen. Le Pen edged out the leftist, Luke Melanchon, by a very narrow

margin. The day before the election, we got Sebastian Budgens' analysis of the

big question leading up to the election. Where would Melanchon's vote go in the

second round? Though a decisive number seemed to have held their noses to vote

from Macron, 26% of the electorate stayed home in effect, abstaining, an insignificant

2% of voters either nullified or turned in a blank ballot. Budgens gives an

analysis of the state of the French electorate that holds lessons and warnings

...